Well, this pretty much changes everything - Animal Collective playing outdoors at the Pioneer Courthouse Square.
To be perfectly honest, I've been somewhat ambivalent about the MFNW line-up teases to date. Sure, Deerhunter and Austra are both great, but I've seen them both before, twice in the case of Austra. I was looking forward to seeing Godspeed You! Black Emperor for the first time, but they've played here in Atlanta before and probably will again - a trip all the way out to Portland seemed a but much to catch just them. The remaining acts (Murder By Death, Superchunk, and Poolside), left me, honestly, feeling a bit underwhelmed.
But then yesterday they announced Animal Collective outdoors in the Square, and the rest of the line-up was released today, and it's a veritable PDX/Seattle dream team - The Head and the Heart! Neko Case! Pickwick! Deep Sea Diver! Chvrches! Helio Sequence! Typhoon! Thao! Unknown Mortal Orchestra! Onuinu! Throw if a few out-of-towners, like Idaho's Youth Lagoon, New Orleans' Hurray For The Riff Raff, Wales' The Joy Formidable, and Georgia's own Washed Out, the mysterious Wooden Indian Burial Mound, comedians Brian Posehn and Mr. Portlandia himself, Fred Armisen, and a few bands that I missed performing here in the ATL in just the past week (!!! and The Men), and you have a festival worth attending (not to mention the previous weekend's Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle featuring, among a great many others, Death Cab For Cutie, Alt-J, Sallie Ford, and Ramona Falls).
The full schedule still hasn't been announced yet, but here's what we know so far:
Wednesday, Sept. 4 - Deerhunter at Crystal Ballroom, Chvrches at Roseland Theater, and Murder By Death at Dantes
Thursday, Sept. 5 - Pacific Air, Youth Lagoon, and Young the Giant at Pioneer Courthouse Square, and then later Austra (venue TBA), Hands, On An On, and The Joy Formidable at the Roseland Theater, and Mount Eerie and Bonnie Prince Billy at the Aladdin Theater.
Friday, Sept. 6 - Dan Deacon and Animal Collective at Pioneer Courthouse Square, and then later Naomi Punk, Titus Andronicus, and Superchunk at Crystal Ballroom, Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Roseland Theater,Flume at the Wonder Ballroom, and Mount Eerie and Bonnie Prince Billy at the Aladdin Theater (second night)
Saturday, Sept. 7 - Deep Sea Diver, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, and The Head and the Heart at Pioneer Courthouse Square, and then later Poolside at The Doug Fir, Charles Bradley and Shuggie Otis at the Crystal Ballroom, 1939 Ensemble and The Helio Sequence at the Aladdin Theater, Glass Candy and The Chromatics at the Wonder Ballroom, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Roseland Theater (second night)
Sunday, Sept, 8 - Pickwick, The Moondoggies, and Neko Case at Pioneer Courthouse Square, and then later Big Gigantic at the Crystal Ballroom
Here's the full line-up in alphabetical order for all of you anal retentive/OCD types out there:
!!!, 1939 Ensemble, Angel Olsen, Animal Collective, Antwon, Austra, Baroness, Beat Connection, Big Gigantic, Bison Bison, Bleached, Bleeding Rainbow, Bob Mould, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Brian Posehn, Broncho, Bruxa, Charles Bradley, Chet Faker, Chill Crew, Chromatics, Chvrches, Cody ChesnuTT, Crushed Out, Dan Deacon, Deep Sea Diver, Deerhunter, Diana, Diplo, Dirtclodfight, Earth, Eyelids, FIDLAR, Flume, Frank Fairfield, Fred & Toody Cole (Unplugged), Fred Armisen, G_Force, Gang$ign$, Gate, Gaytheist, Glass Candy, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Grieves, Hands, Hausu, Hiss Golden Messenger, Horse Feathers, Hostage Calm, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Icona Pop, Into It. Over It., Joey Bada$, John Vanderslice, Justin Townes Earle, K.Flay, La Luz, Larry and his Flask, Like a Villain, Lonnie Winn, Lord Dying, Love as Laughter, Magic Fades, Mariachi El Bronx, Mean Jeans, Mike Donovan, Minden, Morning Ritual, Most Custom, Mt. Eerie, Murder By Death, Nacho Picasso, Naomi Punk, Neal Morgan, Neko Case, Odesza, Old Light, On An On, Onuinu, P.O.S., Pacific Air, Pickwick, Poolside, Prefuse 73, Priory, Ra Ra Riot, Royal Canoe, Royal Thunder, Saves The Day, Shad, Shlohmo (DJ Set), Shuggie Otis, Shy Girls, Sirah, Sonny & The Sunsets, Superchunk, Surfer Blood, Team Dresch, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, The Baseball Project, The Bronx, The Chicharones, The Dodos, The Head and The Heart, The Helio Sequence, The Joy Formidable, The Lonesome Billies, The Men, The Moondoggies, The Thermals, Titus Andronicus, Tobacco, TxE,Ty Segall, Typhoon, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Vice Device, Washed Out, White Lung, Wooden Indian Burial Ground, Yob, Young The Giant, Youth Bitch, Youth Lagoon.Tickets go on sale Friday, but here's the best part - I already bought my own all-access VIP wristband!
Update: All of those band names DO NOT fit into the "labels" field.
